Booms are mechanical barriers which extend above and below the water surface and which are typically used to (1) enclose, contain, and concentrate spilled oil for recovery; (2) divert the oil to areas in which recovery is more easily conducted; and (3) safeguard commercially valuable or environmentally sensitive areas threatened by accidental spills or chronic pollution.
Although boom size, shape and materials vary widely according to the intended purpose of the boom, commercial booms generally consist of four basic components: (1) a means of flotation, such as a gas-filled compartment or solid float; (2) a freeboard section which extends above the water surface and prevents oil and debris from washing over the top of the boom; (3) a shirt which extends below the surface and keeps contained material from escaping beneath the boom; and (4) a tension member designed to withstand the forces of currents, waves, and winds.
Insitu burning of crude oil on water can be an extremely effective oil spill response, particularly in remote offshore areas and in broken ice where conventional countermeasures are limited. However, insitu burning is a problem insofar as the boom is concerned inasmuch as the boom may be destroyed or severely damaged by the fire. U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,191 discloses a boom wherein a fireproof fabric is utilized to reduce oil spill fire damage to the boom. However, it has been found that the temperature of burning crude oil adjacent to a boom may be at 1600.degree. F. whereas a flameproof fabric such as cloth of woven glass fibers melts at 1100.degree. F. and a foamed polypropylene flotation member melts at 330.degree. F. Manifestly, more is required than simply a flameproof barrier to prevent damage to the boom.
Applicant is not aware of any other prior art which, in his judgment as one skilled in the boom art, would anticipate or render obvious the novel boom of the present invention; however, for the purposes of further developing the background of the invention and establishing the state of the requisite art, the following art is set forth: U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,856.